Yet Post reporters strolling through the Crossroads of the World day after day witness one costumed menace after another grabbing passersby to demand attention (and then cash), mostly outside the zones that they’re supposed to stick to.

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Meet the des-RUDE-as! Costumed characters in Times Square are giving...

Times Square Alliance head Tim Tompkins is so furious that he’s willing to risk City Hall’s wrath to publicize the disorder. His staffers report that nine in 10 interactions involve the “performer” touching a civilian — pretty much the definition of aggressive panhandling.

That’s a crime, which in all other contexts the NYPD is driving down to ever-lower lows.

Some in law enforcement tell The Post that the Times Square problem is that most of the offenders are illegal immigrants, who are to be kept out of the justice system under Team de Blasio’s “sanctuary city” policy. Sounds crazy, but something bizarre is going on when New York cops turn a blind eye to blatant lawbreaking.